Manage your Message Media Training

The most important media relations tool money can buy...

What's your 'must-have' tool when preparing yourself or a client for an important media interview? A laptop? iPad? BlackBerry? Skype? Video camera?

As much as I love gadgets (and I do love my gadgets), I would gladly forsake all of these for the lowly index card.

In hundreds of media training sessions over nearly two decades, I have yet to see a tool that has such a dramatic, positive and noticeable impact on peoples' performance in their media interviews.

Here are the top four reasons why the this modest, paper rectangle will always hold a special place as my go-to media relations tool:

• They force message discipline. If you can't get all the key messages for your upcoming media interview on a 3" x 5" index card, your story is too long. Unlike a Word document or legal pad, the index card forces you to boil your story down to a few key points. This is, by far, their most important benefit.  
• They're cheap. In fact, you can get 300 of them for less than five bucks. And unless you're a head of state, Justin Bieber or Anthony Weiner, that should be more than enough for all the media interviews you'll conduct over the course of your entire life. 
• They're great in the event of a blackout. No cords. No batteries. Nothing to back up, nothing to save on a flash drive, nothing to be corrupted by a virus. Long after your laptop battery has died, your index card (and your key messages) will be there for you.
• They fit anywhere. Your index cards fits perfectly in your shirt or suit pocket, wallet, purse, briefcase, portfolio, etc.

One of the biggest challenges when preparing a client for a media interview is getting them to focus on a few core messsages. The tempation for many spokespeople (especially when they're very knowledgeable about a product or company) is to talk, talk, talk. The simulated interviews we do with them tend to go on and on, wandering from topic to topic. When I encounter someone like this in a training session, I'll write three messages on an index card, hand it to the spokesperson, give them 30 seconds to memorize it and then start the interview over again from the top. The difference in their ability to focus on their key messages is usually nothing short of breathtaking.

Index cards are also handy for public speaking engagements. I prefer them over speeches printed out on letter-sized paper. It always irritates me when spokespeople are up at the podium, noisily flipping and turning pages into the microphone. Write out your key points on as many index cards as it takes, put them on the podium and when you're done a card, simply slide it aside and you're onto the next one.

So the next time you're stocking up on office supplies at Staples, be sure to visit the oft-neglected index card aisle and stock up. The next time a media interview or speaking engagment comes around, you'll be glad you did.

 

Coping with Ontario's new hands-free driving law

As of today, it's illegal to use a handheld device while driving in Ontario. To mark the occasion, I thought I would dig up an old post on the 'Jawbone' - what I consider to be the best bluetooth headset on the market. I've been using it for nearly a year and still love it. It really does eliminate background noise.

You can read the Jawbone post here.

Jawbone - The best bluetooth headset for PR people on the go?

After about three years of being completely 'anti-bluetooth headset', I've been converted. The device that converted me? The new Jawbone.

My first experience with bluetooth headsets several years ago left me less-than-impressed. As the owner of a small PR shop, I'm constantly running to and from client meetings. I wanted to make better use of time in the car by taking care of calls. Going handsfree made sense for a number of reasons, including safety behind the wheel. So around 2005, I shelled out over $100 for a Motorola model. It was a total disappointment. First, my blackberry constantly had trouble recognizing it. When I did manage to get it connected, people on the other end of the calls were always complaining about echoes, wind noise, ambient sound. So after a very short career, my clunky Motorola headset ended up in a desk drawer, where it still resides today.

Since then, I've been going handheld and using that irritating little earpiece with the dangly black cord. Until about a month ago. On one of my regular excursions to FutureShop, I stumbled across the Jawbone. In addition to looking great, the salesperson told me they had been flying off the shelves. Their popularity was due in large part to their 'Noise Assassin' technology, which eliminated all ambient sound. I was intrigued, but understandably skeptical. I ended up forking out $120 for the sleek-looking black headset, went home and charged it up.

Wow. If you haven't used the Jawbone, you probably won't believe me, but this device literally kills all background noise. I've tested it by making calls to friends and family and asking if they could hear anything in the background. Standing beside a waterfall at the mall. No noise on the other end. In line at a fast-food place. No noise. Standing in the middle of HMV, with music pounding throughout the store. And the person on the other end couldn't hear it. I've actually had people say they thought I was calling them from a landline -- that's how clear it is. Check out this video from the company's website that shows the Jawbone in action.

The bottom line is that I'm now able to make quality-sounding calls to clients while in the car, walking between meetings, or even at the grocery store. It's saving me time. My clients are getting called back sooner. And I get to spend a few more minutes with my kids at the end of the day.